This analysis addresses the question of whether fertility can be lowered without the prior occurrence of the social and economic changes that have come to be labeled modernization. The data show that there exists in Colombia a relatively high level of motivation to control fertility that, for many women, is not coupled with both knowledge of and access to a method of contraception. For the "traditional" woman, the problem may not be lack of motivation so much as lack of access to methods that she is aware of, such as the pill, and lack of knowledge of methods that require few resources of supplies, such as rhythm and withdrawal.